Moving Your MVP to the Next Stage of Growth

In today’s article, we take a look at what it takes to move your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to the next stage of growth by first taking a look at the problems that SaaS companies start to face when they spend too much time in MVP Building mode and fail to make the switch to Scalable Software mode.

However, every founder, however technical, dreams of when they can take a step back from micromanaging. When they can and focus on growing their business, as their MVP moves to the next growth stage.

Scaling, in the context of software development, is the process of handling that growth stage, and increasing the capacity of a software system or application.

Starting with an MVP is foundational for startups, particularly SaaS companies. The MVP stage allows for market testing to validate a business hypothesis.

During this phase, development teams often consist of junior developers or part-time contributors, utilizing simple, non-scalable infrastructure and manual testing processes.

This “MVP building mode” focuses on speed and agility, often at the expense of accruing technical debt and having little to no formal project management methodologies.

The Shift: Scaling for Growth

However, as customer acquisition accelerates, the limitations of MVP infrastructure and processes become apparent.

This is where the need for scalable software becomes undeniable because soon enough, everything starts to break. Bugs start to appear, and your customer service team is flooded with support tickets.

Scaling and moving to the next level of growth entails recruiting dedicated, senior developers, setting coding standards, refactoring legacy code, and adopting automated Quality Assurance (QA) to ensure robustness and reliability.

Such changes are not merely technical; they also entail a transformation in leadership style—from transactional to transformational—and in team culture, empowering team members to make decisions independently.

The Leadership Evolution

A key aspect of this transition is the evolution of leadership within the startup. As founders move away from micromanaging to strictly growing their SaaS business, it also means having the right team in place.

Appointing responsible owners such as Product Owners, CTOs, or any other tech leads to oversee development efforts.

Such a shift not only ensures a more effective delegation of responsibilities but also fosters a culture of accountability and innovation within the team.

Scaling Challenges

Transitioning from MVP to a scalable software solution involves significant changes in team structure, development processes, and company culture.

This transition is crucial for startups aiming to move beyond the initial market fit, get over the little niggles and issues that come with working with a minimum viable product, and scale to meet growing customer demand.

Failure to do so, companies and founders risk falling into that space of constant firefighting, dealing with slow progress, and dissatisfied customers.

Seeking Support

For startups navigating this next stage of growth transition, hiring a seasoned product advisor in the form of a Fractional CTO or CPO can provide the guidance needed to streamline this evolution.

By embracing change, focusing on scalable solutions, and evolving leadership styles, startups can ensure their growth trajectory is not only maintained but accelerated.

Ready to make the leap? At Trustshoring, we’ve got a network of product consultants and experienced software engineering teams geared toward scaling software.

Get in touch with us!